Scholarships

Opportunity Scholarships

RubyConf 2018 is offering a limited number of full conference registration scholarships, open to anyone who would not normally attend, though we specifically encourage students, women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups in the technology sector to apply. The Opportunity Scholarship is a chance to jump in to learn more about Ruby specifically and software development in general.

Here are some things that are included in the Scholarship program in addition to a free ticket to RubyConf 2018:

Pairing with a Guide, an experienced programmer or conference-goer who has attended RubyConf before and is already familiar with many key players at the conference.

An invitation to a welcome gathering to meet all of your fellow Scholars and the Guides the night before the conference

An instant connection to the other Scholars in your cohort, who are also new to the Ruby community

The chance to level up your skills by attending awesome talks throughout the conference and meeting influential people in the community

An invitation to a Slack community for the Scholars and Guides. This is a great place to ask any questions of each other before, during, and even after the conference.

Note: we are delighted to be able to offer a limited amount of financial support for Scholars’ transportation and/or accommodation, due to a generous donation from one of our conference sponsors. This support is provided on a first-come, first-served basis to Scholars who submit their paid actual travel costs for reimbursement. The overall fund is limited, and as such, we cap reimbursements at $500 USD maximum per Scholar.

Also, if it applies to you, we’re pleased to share that RubyConf 2018 offers complimentary childcare and a lactation room for all attendees. Just let us know if you will require this!

Testimonials from Previous Scholars:

“Coming to any new place and meeting so many new people can be especially daunting, but this program allowed me to feel immediately more comfortable. I met so many incredible people and learned so much!!”

Amy Dusek, Scholar

“Being gifted with the opportunity to meet so many AWESOME people who share my interests and aspirations was a life-changing experience I will never forget!”

Rene Sanchez, Scholar

Scholarship applications have now closed. Applicants will be responded to by September 20, 2018.

Be a RubyConf 2018 Guide!

Want to help bring a new community member into the RubyConf 2018 community? We're looking for volunteer Guides to partner up with this year's Opportunity Scholars.

Scholars are folks new to the Ruby community, or maybe even new to writing code altogether, and they're ready to have their first -- hopefully transformative -- RubyConf experience. They've been telling us the amazing stories of their path to RubyConf, and we genuinely think they're going to be wonderful additions to our community. What we need from you is to help welcome them in and make them feel at home!

Duties

Be available as a friendly face for your Scholar throughout the whole conference.

Recommend talks for your Scholar to attend based on his or her interests, current skill levels, and experiences.

Make introductions between your Scholar and established developers, especially ones that might be particularly influential in his or her areas of interest.

Give feedback on breaking into the Ruby world, as your Scholar is likely looking for his or her first Ruby programming gig!

Timing

While Guides are responsible for obtaining their own tickets to RubyConf, we also realize that the deadline for this application may come up before you are ready to commit to attending RubyConf. If you think there is any chance that you’d attend, we’d ask you to apply anyway, even if you might have to withdraw at a later date.

Application Logistics

Please fill out the entire application, as we use what you’ve written here to make the best Scholar/Guide matches that we can, ones that we hope are highly beneficial for both parties. Even if you've been a Guide before, the more info you give us, the easier it makes the process. If we don’t have a good sense of who you are and what type of Guide you’d be from your application, it’s difficult to make a good match. We anticipate this application takes 10-15 minutes to complete.

Testimonials from Previous Guides:

“The Scholar program is a great way to bring new people into the fold. I've been a programmer for a long time, and I'm still intimidated at times by some people. Being a newbie is also pretty intimidating with all there is to learn. So it's nice to be able to break down walls and do a little mentoring along the way.”

Barrett Clark, Guide

“Conferences are overwhelming when you're a first-timer: where do you go? Who do you talk to? Are you allowed to ask the speakers to sign your laptop? The Scholar program helps newbies bypass all those worries. Being a Guide lets you be a big part of shaping someone’s first conference into a positive, empowering experience, and that is hugely rewarding. This program is one of my favorite parts of RailsConf.”

Louisa Barrett, Guide

Guide applications have now closed. Applicants will be responded to by September 20, 2018.